The Impact Of The California Gold Rush

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Looking back in time, there were many significant events that changed history in one way or another. Whether it be some small event that caused a chain reaction into a huge event, or an event that seemed like a big deal at the time, but didn’t really end up being that big, there are thousands, millions of events that change what happens to certain countries, civilizations, people, all big or small. One event that was big when it happened, and though it is not a tremendous event nowadays, the California Gold Rush is still a huge part of United States history. Throughout the years, there were many things that changed the US economy, but one huge event that changed US history was the California Gold Rush because of the change of economy, lifestyle, …show more content…

Before the Gold Rush, San Francisco was a city that was not well known or even big compared to all the other cities at the time. It is because of the Gold Rush that San Francisco was put on the map, for the forming of the transcontinental railroad to help with the transportation during the Gold Rush had set San Francisco’s position to be the dominant western city (National Geographic - After the Gold Rush). The formation of the transcontinental railroad in San Francisco had not only made it a dominant city for the United States, but it had made it an important port for the import and export of goods and the traveling of people (history.com - The Gold Rush of 1849). This was what helped give a definition to an instant city, for it is considered the closest thing to one that the world has ever seen in all of history (The California Gold Rush - Altman). The thing that surprised most surprised many people with quick popularization of the city was the fact that before it was huge, it was considered one of the most odd places to have a city, which is what ultimately made it the perfect city during the Gold Rush (The California Gold Rush - …show more content…

Environmental wise there were many effects, including but not limited to more and worsened flooding in the Great Valley, destabilization of slopes and hillsides from the mining, and wide expanses of farmland were destroyed by dredging (mjc.edu). Some other non environmental effects that existed were economic effects, some of which were that there was an increase in national money supply and some people became extremely rich

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